Hold On
by Tired and Inspired
Summary: Death is all over the news. Followed by another one. And another one. The victims have nothing in common, but they all seemed to get anonymous notes before they were killed. So when Ally finds a note on her piano, Austin pledges that he will protect her.
1. Hannah's Bas Luck, His Good Luck

**A/N- Hey guys! I would like to thank you all for voting, now here is the first chapter of my winning story, Hold On! I've worked really hard on this and I hope you like it! Anyways, this is the first horror/mystery story I've written, so I'm kind of sturggling to make it work. It's a good challenge and I loved writing this though! Anyways, try not to judge all too much, because I wasn't sure if this is the best thing I've written, and my fragil self-confidence couldn't take a too harsh comment. So try not to make me cry please...**

**Anyways, I hope that you do enjoy this! Let me know what you think. Now, the moment you've all been waiting for...**  
><strong>THE DISCLAMING! <strong>

_***Yay! Whoo!***_

**Tired and Insprired does not own Austin and Ally, and Trish and Dez, and every single song the she uses in this story. She can't write songs. For her life. Anways, although all those things would love to belong to Tired and Insprired , they don't. Austin and Ally belongs to the second best thing, Disney. And the songs in this story belong to the respectable artist and song writer. *GASP* LIKE AUSTIN AND ALLY! WHOOT WHOOT!**  
><strong>Anyways...enjoy!<strong>

••••

Dark. That was the only way you could describe that night. The sky was black, and there were no stars to give light. The dark looming clouds covered the bright moon. Rain came down hard, making loud splashes as it came in contact with the gravel street in the usually bright and sunny Miami. The night gave a dark depressing feeling.

Tan high-heeled leather boots made clicking noises as the feet inside them walked at a brisk pace. A pretty blonde girl was walking home, praying that her night couldn't get any worse.

•••

"Sean, please don't do this. Please, I love you. Don't leave me." The girl begged the man in front of her with tears streaming down her face.

"I'm sorry Hannah, but this is how it has to go. I don't want to hurt you any more than I already have."

"Than don't leave me!" Hannah screamed into the cold dark air.

"It's too late for that." Hannah watched as the love of her life turned and walked away from her, not even looking back once.

••••

He had left her there in the middle of a park. She started to walk home, and it just so happened to pour. This was just her luck. This night couldn't get any worse.

'Unless of course a physco path decides it would be fun to mug me.' Hannah thought dryly. That would be just her luck. Probably wasn't going to happen though. Sure, Miami wasn't the safest city in America. But this part of it sure was. Hannah felt safe was she strode down the sidewalk bordering local stores.

A buzzing noise came from her back pocket and she pulled out her cell phone. New message from...restricted? That was odd. She opened the message as a great feeling of curiosity washed over her. She stopped walking and slowly read over the words written in clear black and white.

'Aww, poor Hannah. Beloved Sean is gone from your life now. Why don't you go cry about it? You probably already are.'

Hannah, although very hurt by this, ignored it. It was probably one of Sean's friends that didn't like her. She rolled her teary eyes and put the phone back in her pocket. Yeah, that was it. A prank text. Although it wasn't very funny. Pretty stupid actually. Hannah kept walking and ignored the siren going off in the back of her head that told her that this was odd.

Another buzzing noise came from her back pocket. Another text from this mysterious person.

'As a matter of fact, I know your crying.'

"Well that's great for you. Stop texting me now." Hannah spoke out to no one in particular as she hurried down the street. She was slightly annoyed. Not only did her fiancé quit on her, but now she was getting creepy text messages? Not right. Not at all.

Another buzzing noise made Hannah groan. She didn't even bother to read this text, it was probably the creeper again. She wiped off a tear on her cheek and turned a corner. She was about three minuets away from her apartment. The same irritating buzzing started up again. And again. And again. She cursed herself for lack of self control and pulled put her phone.

'I know you think these messages are annoying.'

Whatever. She moved onto the next text message.

'Do you want to know why I know all these things?'

No, no not really. She just wanted to get home. She opened the next one.

'Do you really want to know?'

No. Hannah wiped another tear off of her face. She just wanted this night to be over, can't this person just leave her alone?

The next text gave her her answer, and that would be no. Absolutely not. Time seemed to freeze. Everything stopped her thoughts, her heart, her pulsing blood. Her eyes widen and she slowly turned around. It only took a half of a second for her reaction to kick in, and that was to run as fast as she could. She tried to make her stride longer, her steps quicker, her breath even, and her tears in her eyes. But it was all useless. In a matter of thirty seconds, strong arms wrapped around her tiny waist. She screamed, kicked and struggled to get free. But it was all to no avail. The shadowy figure holding onto Hannah pulled something out from his belt. Something pointy and deadly. The screams and struggles ended with a sharp intake of breath. The figure released Hannah and her corpse fell to the ground. He flipped Hannah over and pulled the knife out of her gut. The figure wiped the thick crimson liquid off of his knife and onto Hannah's jacket. He picked her up and threw her in a trash can, then proceeded to walk away without a glance back.

Twenty feet away, Hannah's cell phone lay on the ground, the last message still on the screen.

'I see you. I kill you."

•••••

"In other news today, a body was found in a trash can on South Street. There was blood found on the jacket of the victim, and she appears to have died from a stabbing. The blood on the jacket was confirmed to be the victim's. The victim's cell phone was found not far from her body. On the phone police found unusual messages which are suspected to be from the murderer. Now this isn't the first murder like this. Several other body's have been found with messages like this somewhere near. It seems that-" The news lady never got to finish her sentence, because the TV was shut off.

"Ally! Why'd you shut off the TV?" A (very good looking) blonde boy complained as the petite brunette stood from the couch.

"Because Austin, hearing about murders that occurred very close to where I live isn't my most favorite thing to hear about." Ally flopped on the couch in the practice room, which was just above her family music store, Sonic Boom. The practice room was where Ally wrote songs for Austin. It's really quite a long story, and it's not the one I'm telling, so to cut it short, Ally wrote songs for Austin that were posted on the web every Friday. Austin and Ally often stayed in the practice room all night (generally on Thursday) writing songs. They had kept clothes, food and a small TV in there for cases such as above.

"Oh c'mon Ally! Are you afraid a man's going to sneak into your house and eat you?" Austin joked, but Ally didn't find it funny.

"This isn't a joke Austin, someone just got killed. Someone's family is crying right now. Someone just lost their best friend. Someone just lost their soul mate."

Austin stared at the girl in front of him. "Thank you Ally, for that glimpse of sunshine. Because of you, I can go on peacefully and happily with my day. Really, just, thank you." Austin's voice was deep and sarcastic, and for some reason, it made Ally giggle. Yes, giggle. Like a school girl giggle. What has the world come to?

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." Ally waved him off with her hand. "Now c'mon. I have a store to run."

•••••

"Guess who got a job at Lucy's Pizza?" Ally's bestest friend in the entire world, Trish, asked as she walked into Sonic Boom. She had on a red and yellow apron and a headband with a pizza on it.

"Hmmm, lemme guess. James Maslow?" Ally asked sarcastically as she examined her friends new uniform. Trish had about a million jobs a month. Ally was surprised there was enough jobs in the world for Trish.

"Nooo...me! Although that would be totally awesome because he is a total BABE!" Trish swooned and leaned against the counter.

Ally laughed and continued writing in her songbook/diary. "I would sure go to Lucy's Pizza a whole lot more."

"We could use our employee discounts together." Trish said, leaning against her left palm, daydreaming about the heartthrob.

Ally mimicked her position. "He's so hot I could bake cookies on him*."

"I'd eat those cookies." Trish replied dreamily.

"One problem, he's so hot it would BURN the cookies!" Ally said dramatically.

"I'm sure they'd still be really good. Your cookies are awesome Alls." The girls nodded in agreement.

"You guys talking about me again?" The oh-so modest Austin asked with a grin as he pranced down the stairs leading to the practice room.

"Now Austin, let's not get ahead of ourselves here." Trish said, but she went ignored.

"Ally, are you working on another song already?" He asked, glancing down at her songbook, trying to get a quick peek at his next hit song.

But he wasn't quick enough for Ally. She slammed the book she with all of her might, squirting it under her hand. "Yes that is exactly what Im writing. Carry on now bye!" Ally replied quickly and pushed Austin out of the store. "Yep, bye see ya!" She yelled after Austin and be kept looking back, giving her a confused looked. When he was out if her sight, she sighed.

Trish raised an eyebrow. "So...wattcha writin' about in there?" She asked slowly and carefully and inched her hand closer to Ally's book.

She slapped Trish's hand away. "I'm not writing about Austin! Why would I be writing about Austin. Pft, that's ridiculous. Pft, oh looks whose not writing about Austin! Oh it's my. Pft, writing about Austin. Pft, what?" She asked in a really high pitched voice before her face fell into dead seriousness. "Is it that obvious?"

Trish looked, surprisingly enough, dumbfounded. "Well it wasn't until that little show."

Ally let out a groan. "Trish, I don't know what to do. I thought I liked Dallas, but Austin just makes me feel different. I get all giggly when I'm with him and he makes me feel special. I get butterflies in my stomach every time I talk to him and I don't know what this is and I'm freakin' out!"

Trish leaned forward. "Now I am going to say this once and only once." She said slowly and then paused for dramatic effect. "You. Like. Austin." She smacked her hand against the table and leaned back with a satisfied grin.

"What? No I don't like Austin. I just think he's funny and sweet and nice and caring and cute and every time I look into his eyes- OH MY GOD! I like Austin!" Ally whispered-screamed. She would just regular scream if the store wasn't swarmed with people.

"I know." Trish stated simply.

"No no no NO! I can't like him! We just went through this whole thing and we confirmed that we would be just friends and this is wrong and I can't like him! And he'll never like me back and I'll grow alone with thirteen cats and I'll die with no one loving me and the only person at my funeral will be the priest and then JUST CATS!" Ally screamed in a panic type way, gaining the attention of many shoppers.

Trish let out an uneasy laugh. "Go back to your shopping people, nothing to see here." She waved her hand and turned back to Ally. "Ally, calm down. You will never have thirteen cats because you're allergic to them."

"Oh, right."

"And sure, there's a chance that Austin might not like you, but hey! You have to try. And if you get your heart broken, it will heal and you'll learn from it. And who knows? Maybe Austin does like you, maybe he likes you more than you like him." Ally's heart pounded harder at the thought. "Maybe he likes you and doesn't know it, or maybe he just wants to be friends. But you're going to have to talk to him about how you feel eventually. You can't just keeps this bottled up inside."

"Or, maybe, I could keep it bottled up inside and wait until it passes!" Ally suggested in a perky voice. "Yeah, yeah I think I'll do that."

Trish put her hands up. "Alright, well I have to go to work."

"When does your shift start?'

Trish glanced down at the watch on her wrist. "Um, four hours ago." A wide smile spread across her face. "Bye!"

Ally laughed. "Why am I not surprised?"

••••

"Dez, I think we have a problem here." Austin said while he and his redheaded friend were eating lunch at the food court in the outdoor mall Sonic Boom was in.

"Would that be that you found a llama?"

"No it's that- wait, what?" Dez had a reputation for doing stupid things, like ordering animals such as kangaroos, camels and apparently llamas.

"What llama? Austin, did you order a llama? I can't believe you keep doing this!"

Austin rolled his eyes. "Anyways, that's not the problem. The problem is- I have, ummm, feelings, about someone, and umm,"

"You like Ally." Dez said simply, almost as simply as Trish told Ally she like Austin.

"What? Who said that? Pft!"

"You, you said that. Or at least you were about to." Dez took another large bite of this burger. His delicious...juicy...tasty...

"DEZ!" Austin knocked Dez right out of his thoughts about his lunch. "Are you even listening to me?" Dez opened his mouth to speak, but Austin kept going. "I kind of want to tell Ally, but I kind of don't. You know what I mean?" Dez opened his mouth again, but Austin went on. "I mean, what if she says no? I'll be rejected by my songwriter! How humilating would that be? She would write songs for me to sing about how she wishes I never brought up my demented feelings! AHH!"

"Dude, she likes you too, just tell her so I can get back to my hamburger."

Austin stood up. "Your right man! I just have to do it! Just go for it! Yeah, yeah. YEAH!" Austin started to walk away, leaving Dez alone with his warm...big...perfectly cooked...

"Man I can't do this, what if-"

"GO!"

"Alright, alright!"

* * *

><p>"Ally, there's something I need to talk to you about!" Austin yelled nervously as he marched into Sonic Boom. His voice was shaking. He had a voice crack when he said the word talk. He went up a whole octive.<p>

Hearing no reply, Austin looked around for her. There was a few people roaming the store, looking at various things. Austin knew where she was, the practice room. Where else would she be? He made his way further into the store and up the stairs. He timidly knocked on the door. No reply, he pressed his ear up against the door and he didn't hear anything. It was eeriely quiete in the store. Even the shoppers were silent as the stared at the multy colored violens. Ausitn opened the door with caution, poking his head through the door to make sure there wasn't a llama there, ready to attack. But what he saw was much worse.

Ally sitting on the bench, leaning over the piano. Her head was hanging down over her lap. Her hands were holding something in her lap. That must have been the thing she was staring at. Austin slowly came closer to her and saw the she was silently crying. "Ally?"

She jumped at his voice, obviously surprised he was there. Her hands went up in defense, holding up a small lined peice of paper. She slowly turned her head, and let out a long breath when she saw it was Austin. "You scared me."

"Obviously." He sat down next to her and she put her hands and head back down. "What's wrong?"

"If I tell you, will you promise not to tell anyone? Not my dad, Trish, Dez, even your parents."

"Yeah, sure. Why not?"

Ally let out a breath. She handed him the small peice of paper and he took it with care, trying not to crumple it at all. His eyes scanned over the paper. "The reason this scares, is because this isn't the first one I've got. It's the third." Ally said as he read through the note for a second time. He stood up an threw the note on the ground. "Show me the others."

Ally rose without protesting. She wanted to tell someone. When she watched the news this morning, and herd that all of the victims got 'notes' before they were killed, that made her think about telling somone. When she got this note, it pushed her over the edge. She had to tell someone. And Austin was her someone.

They walked out of the room and shut off the lights. The door closed with a slam. A window was opened, and air blew in. A dark figure climbed into the room. He wore dark jeans, and and black hoodie that covered his face. All you could see of it was a un-shaved beard. He smirked down at the note Ally left in the room, the one with his hand-writting on it.

_"I see the way you look at him. He sees the way you look at him. He doesn't want you. But I do." _

Now maybe that was true, or maybe it wasn't. Maybe he knew what he was talking about, maybe he didn't. But there was one thing that he did know, and that was that his plan was working. Quiet perfectly actually.

Hands with black gloves on them picked up Ally's song book and a pencil and wrote something on it. He left it there wide open, to make sure Ally would see it. And hopefully other people too. Maybe if he was lucky, they would put up a challenge that he would win. If he were lucky, they'd make this almost impossible for him.

He was a very lucky man.


	2. A New Lead

**A/N- Thank you for all of your wonderful reviews, and I am very shocked to see how many I got :), and I am SO sorry I haven't updated yet. I've been a very busy person lately, and I've had a case of writer's block. Sorry this chapter is really short, and it might suck. But anyways...I have my story now! Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><em>Tic Toc <em>

Very rarley is it quiet enough in Sonic Boom for Ally to hear the clock. Usually when it is that silent, the store is empty, or maybe it's raining really hard. Or Trish is _actually _working. Or like the one time when Ally forgot to swich the open sign to the closed sign. But Ally couldn't recall, at least ever since she met Austin, when the store has been this quiet, but completely full of people.

Execpt now.

Ally sat behind the counter next to Austin, who was holding her hand for comfort, although Ally didn't respond to this, she sat staring at the floor. Trish was sitting awkwardly on the counter, and she seemed to take a sudden interest at the colored violens. Dez was leaning against the counter next to Trish, playing with his hands. Mr. Dawson stared down at Ally with his arms crossed. Around them, were two police men and some private investigators.

And no one dared to say a word.

They were actually all waiting for Ally to talk, but that wasn't going to happen any time soon. Ally was still in shock that this was actually happening to her. Of all those times when you hear, 'Oh, that could never happen to me,' and the response is 'It could happen to anyone,' you still believe it won't happen to you. Now it was happening to Ally, and she wishes she believes it could. "Ally, sweetie, can you please give us some answers here?" One of the police men said. His name was, Officer Doyle, or at least it said so on his name tag. Ally wasn't sure, she didnt't know what to belive any more. "Tell me, do you know Hanna Lovely?"

Ally shook her head.

Officer Doyle sighed. "What about Kevin Newton? Leah Sullivan? Chelsea Edwards? Any of these people?"

Ally shook her head.

The other officer, Officer Hallagan, spoke up. "Do you have any connections with these people? Are you in a relationship with anyone? It seems that all of these people were engaged or getting engaged. In one case, the victim had just gotten proposed to."

Ally shook her head. "Of course Ally's not getting engages! She's fifteen!" Mr. Dawson exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air. "This is ridiculos! Your asking all these questions and none of them make sense! Ally has nothing in common with the other victims. So stop asking questions and go find the person whose stalking my daughter!"

"Mr. Dawson, please calm down. We can't go find a killer if we don't have any leads." Officer Doyle said, trying to keep calm as if he didn't want to say anything he'd regret. Like they have no chance of finding the killer.

"He killed people."

"That's not a lead."

"It should be."

"Well it's not and we're doing the best we can!"

"If your best isn't good enough, my daughter loses her life. So get better!" Mr. Dawson was really losing his temper now. Why couldn't these cops just find the guy already?

There was a few moments of silence. "You said that these people were all in a relationship?" All heads turned to Austin, who hadn't said a word until now.

"Yeah." Officer Hallagan said slowly.

"Were they happy relationships? They didn't have any problems, did they?" Austin asked, still staring at the ground.

"From what we know, all of these relationships were going great. Hanna actually got murdered the night her fiance broke off the engagment, but other than that everything was fine."

"And did any of them have family issues, money issues, or problems with work?"

Officer Doyle looked a little surprised. "No, every victim was in a good place in their life. But that doesn't have to do with the murd-"

"Yes it does." Austin said as he stood up and looked up, but still held onto Ally's hand as if his life depended on it. "All of these people had great lives! The only thing bad in them is that they died! What do you think that means?"

"Umm, that they were lucky?" Officer Hallagan offered.

"NO! It means that the killer didn't have a good life! Did you ever think of that? That maybe the reason this person is doing this is because life was cruel to him and he thinks that these people deserve to suffer. I mean, look at Ally. She's staring her career in music! She has hit songs that have gone viral over the internet, I think that's a pretty awesome life. Ally couldn't be happier until this happened."

"Is this true Ally?" Officer Doyle asked.

Ally nodded.

"Alright, we'll get started on that right away! Looking for people with unfortunate lives in this area." Officer Hallagan said excitedly, like this was the idea of the generation. What he didn't think about was that there was entire neighborhoods of people with unfortunate lives. He was just happy to have a lead. Within seconds, everyone cleared out, leaving Ally, her dad, and Austin.

"Well, Ally, I'm going to go hire you a body gaurd. Austin, your hired until I come back with one. I'll be back sweetie." He kissed his daughter on the head and walked out of the store.

Now it was just Austin and Ally. There could be several situations like this. Austin and Ally writting their next hit song, Austin teaching Ally how to have fun. But this situation, although the least common, will be the one the never forget. Ally stood up, her expression bare. Tears threatened to fall and her hands were balled up at her sides. If looks could kill, Austin would be dead. "How. Could. You?" Ally said carefully and her voice was full of pain. She still refused to look up at Austin.

"How could I what? Save your life?" Austin asked a bit rhetorically. "Alls, you can't seriously tell me your mad because I told the police you're being stalked."

"I wouldn't be mad if you promised you wouldn't!" Ally screamed, unwillingly meeting Austin's eyes. Those chocolate brown eyes she loved. They could be better today, they were almost black now.

"Ally this is insane! I SAVE YOUR LIFE! Stop being stupid and thank me, because if it wasn't for me, the killer would still be after you and no one would be there to stop him!"

"Are you saying that you wouldn't try and stop him?" Ally shot back at him, and it seemed to shut him up real quick. "Exactly. And don't think I wasn't going to tell the cops. I was going to, I just wasn't ready. It still wasn't real to me, that someone wants me to die. I wanted to do this myself. I wanted to save myself." Austin still didn't dare say anything. "I want to be my own hero, I don't want you to take the spot. So next time something important happens, I'll remeber not to tell you." Ally turned on her heel and started to walk up to the practice room.

"Ally wait!" Austin called after her.

"Weren't you the one who just told me not to wait?"

* * *

><p>Hours later, after their fight, Austin and Ally lay still in bed. Neither one alseep, both of their eyes closed. Thinking the same thing but their so many miles away. <em>Why?<em>

Mr. Dawson got Ally a body gaurd, although Ally seemed to find this unnessicary. He stood outside Ally's door at night. At about midnight he'd pull up a comfy chair and drift off to sleep, although his ears were wide awake for any noises. He was waiting for the danger.

But the danger wasn't there. The danger was back at Sonic Boom, dressed in all black. The danger was sneaking into Sonic Boom, without leaving any sign that he was there. The danger was holding a canaster, filled with a thick liquid. The danger was leaving another mark, writen in blood.

_He can't save you._


	3. Good Luck Ally Dawson

••••

**A/N- Who sucks? That's right! Me! I'm pretty sure I owe you guys like a million dollars worth of apologizes. This is my most popular story, and you guys are practically begging me to update and I haven't done so yet. So I am going to try to make this the bestest chapter ever! Even though it will, indeed, suck. And I would just like to say this is not like Pretty Little Liars. Never watched the show, never watched the books. So, my bad! And I would also like to thank you all for the amazing, kind, and fucking awesome reviews you guys leave me. I would like to give a big thanks to writtingnow, CloverHeart609, and cookielover2498. I am so completely flattered that you said I have the best Austin and Ally story. That made my heart sore with glee. And to all my other reviewers, I love everything you said. Really, you guys make me feel really good about my writting and I hope I never dissapoint you. Ever. So, as long as you make me feel like this is an awesome story, I will continue to update! Thank you, beautiful people of the world! **

**And now...**

**THE DISCLAIMER!**

**Tired and Inspired, though as awesome as she is, does not own Austin and Ally. She would forget to update it too much...**

••••

_'Ally, darling, I am so horrifically sorry. I didn't mean to scare you! Well, actually, that's a lie as fat as your friend. Ouch. Sorry. Hit below the belt. Let's face it, I suck. So anyways I'd thought I'd try and tell you a little about myself. My name is none if your God damn beeswax and I like to kill people with sharp weapons. Jeesh, that doesn't sound all too good. Defiantly not putting that on my EHarmony profile. But don't worry, you'll know my name in good time. You'll be screaming it later. _

_Of course, as you probably figured out, I am going to kill you. You are going to die. But first I'm probably going to forcefully take your virginity. I'll rape you. A couple of times. A day. Haha, just kidding! Maybe...But what I said was completely true. Ally, no matter how hard they try, they won't be able to save you. No one will. I could save you, but I won't. Try not to be too upset with me. Think of it has a hobby, a way of life. Compare it too your songwritting. What would you be doing if not for music? You would be no where. And you wouldn't have that dumb blonde getting in my way. Maybe I'll kill him too. Nah, he's not worth it. But anyways, what would I be without this satisfaction, knowing that for once someone is beneth me. Knowing that I have power. Knowing that they'll be begging me, not the other way around. It's makes me feel whole inside, and it gives a rush of adernerline I cannot even hope to describe. You, Ally Dawson, are going to make me feel alive. Or should I say your death? Yes, that's it. Your death is going to make me feel even more alive. If it weren't for my, hobby, I'd be dead. Better you than me. _

_Enough with being deep. Let's get down to business. _

_Anyways, even though I am a psychotic sicko I do have some emotion. Well, not really. But enough to take time out of my day and write you this letter. How nice of me is that. You are going to go through some phases, so to say. This is totally normal, it's like a pre-murder type thing. So just relax, it will all pass. And if it doesn't it won't matter because I'll be killing you._

_The first stage, is like any other, denial._

•••

"Alright Austin, you can do this, tell her your sorry. You've planned out a whole speech. Maybe throw in a complement or two...'Hey Ally! You look nice today! You don't look at all like someone who is going to get murdered!'" Austin smacked himself in the face. "Okay, don't say that."

Speak of the devil, Ally pranced down the stairs of the practice room into Sonic Boom, smiling and happy as ever. Her smiled oozed joy. It made Austin upset that seeing her this happy surprised him. "Hey Austin!" She chirped and strutted behind the counter. Strutted? Ally never strutted!

"Umm, Ally? Are you okay?"

Ally let out a long laugh. "Oh Austin, I'm fine! Don't worry about anything, everything's going to be fine!"

Austin gaped at her. "Ally I don't mean to be a Debby Downer or anything, but there is a psycho-path loose out there threatening to rape and kill you. Nothing is going to be fine."

"Austin, you worry to much! Now if you'll excuse me, I have to write a song for you." Ally said as though everything was just dandy and happy. She opened up her song book and began writting in it furiously, with a big bright smile that seemed 100% fake. It wasn't right, not to Austin, to see that look on Ally's face. Whenever he thought of Ally, he thought of someone who is genuine and real. He thought of someone whose brave and although it's not always the prettiest side, let's people see what she's really feeling. That, though, could be her greatest strength and biggest weakness. But Austin never thought of someone who'd put on a fake smile. Someone who'd put on a fake act. Someone who'd put on fake hapiness. Austin never thought Ally would be the type of person to hide the girl he loved.

At this moment, Austin wanted nothing more than to take Ally in his arms, hold her, kiss her. Tell her not to worry, he'll do that for her. He'll protect her to the bitter end. He'll always be there for her. Ally needs support, Ally needs a rock to hold her in place. Austin will gladly be that rock. He would do absolutley anything for that fake smile on her face to dissapear and never return, and have it be replaced by her real smile. Her smile that makes Austin insides go mushy. Austin wants to tell her how much he needs her, how much he loves her, and how he wants to love her until there's no more love to give. He wants to tell her that she's safe with him. But looking at Ally, he can't find the right way to do it. The words die in his throat, before they even got a chance to reach his tounge. He can feel the words loose the battle against his cowardly-ness, but the meaning never does. He tells himself that this is right, that he doesn't bring in his feelings, when all Ally needs to think about is herself. But Austin really knows that's not true. Ally needs him just as much as he needs her.

Instead of pouring out his heart to the core reason for his exsistance, Austin stares, and swallows the dry lump in his throat. He gives a stiff nod and forces out a feeble, "Okay." He turns to leave before Ally can see the tears threatening to come crashing down. He needs to be strong, for her.

••••

_Ah, I love this stage, it's so fun to watch! Mood swings! It's great, especially with girls PMSing. Haha, you females make me laugh! But you've done well so far Ally. I really can't wait to see this stage. Maybe if you really entertain me, I'll let you live a little bit longer. Hey, maybe I'll make your death a painless one!_

_..._

_You and I both know that's bullshit, right? _

••••

"Hey Ally." Trish said carefully as she leaned against the counter Ally was working at. Trish hadn't seen Ally since the police event, and she wasn't sure how Ally was feeling. Although she could guess she didn't feel like Kate Upton. Trish was the type of person who could see right threw anyone, no matter how big and strong of a wall they put up. She knows as she walks up to her best friend that this conversation isn't going to be an easy one, it's a thought that the churning in her stomach confirms. Trish is convinced that as soon as Ally turns around, there will be tears pouring out of her eyes, and she'll be holding onto Trish for comfort. Even though Trish doesn't know how, she'll be there for her best friend, comfort her and hold her hand through the worst of the worst. That's what best friends are for. That's what she's prepared for.

Thats why she was so surprised when Ally turned to face Trish with a big grin on her face. Trish's face falls instantly. This wrong. This is not Ally. Not one bit. Even when she's not being stocked and threantened, Ally someone finds a way to turn a beautiful day into a drama filled event. Not that that was a bad thing. In fact, it was one of the many things Trish loved dearly about Ally. She would never be able to be friends with a dull, boring person. Her life has to be filled with adventure. Maybe that's why she can never keep a job for more than three hours. "Hey! I haven't seen you in a few days! Where've you been? How's your job? Did you get fired again? You did get fired again didn't you?"

Trish didn't even bother to hide the shocked, uncomfortable tone in her voice. Call her selfish, but Trish didn't want to be anywhere near this, this _ailen_ in her friends body. "Umm, Ally, are you okay?"

Ally's face turned stone cold and tears brimmed in her eyes. She knew this was a bit irrational, but she couldn't help it. There was a person out there who for some strange reason, wants her dead and out of this world. Of course she's not okay. She's never going to be okay again, or at least that's what she's convinced herself. All she wants, is to be is a normal teenage girl. That's all she wants. Is that too hard to ask? To live a normal life? If not, than she has a right to lash out at everyone every once and a while. "WHY DOES EVERYONE KEEP ASKING ME IF I'M OKAY? I'M FINE! WHY CAN'T EVERYONE SEE THAT! I'M FREAKING FINE! GOD!"

Trish staggers backwards, tears coming up to her eyes. This isn't Ally either. Where has she gone? This isn't right. With a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach, Trish realizes that it won't ever be right. Not the way it used to be. Not like when they were younger, and they used to play together, sing songs and dance under the stars. Not like when Trish would give Ally boy advise, or when they would hang out in the food court and talk all day. Nothing would ever be the same. Trish had lost her best friend. No, that's not what happend. Her best friend was stolen. Twisted and burnt, broken and beaten, chewed up and spit back out. And the worst has yet to come. Anger builds up inside Trish. Whoever this sick bastard was, they were going to get it. From Trish. Trish would fight for her best friend back, she'd do anything for her best friend. Anything for Ally.

That's a promise she makes to herself as she walks away with tears in her eyes, unable to forget the pain-filled expression of hate that covered Ally's beautiful face.

•••

_Fluctuating temperatures! I particually like this stage because it brings discomfort to the victim. Discomfort is something not a lot of my victims have to deal with, so I enjoy watching their expressions as their experence this minor pain. It helps me imagine what their expressions will be like when I slowly take their lives from them. _

•••

"Hey Dad can you turn the heat up please!" Ally wrapped her sweater tightly around her body and she shivered from her body's sudden drop in temperature. This week has been hard for her. She felt as though she was being dictated by someone else. Someone who hates her friends, hates music, hates life. Her happy aura has been drained out, and it seems like a hard tast to get out of bed in the morning. She feels like her happiness was afraid of this new feeling dominating over her, and picked itself up and walked away without looking back. Her feeling of joy abondoned her in her time of need.

"Sure thing sweetie!" Mr. Dawson called back, careful with his tone. Last time he said the wrong thing the wrong way, Ally started to cry. For six hours. And she wouldn't stop. Mr. Dawson just wasn't sure what to do anymore. He was just as lost as Ally.

"Hey Ally, how's it going?" Austin said with ease as he leaned up against the counter and watch Ally with careful eyes. Careful. That's all Austin ever was now a days. He had to watch his back, to make sure that _he_ was safe. He tried to watch every move Ally made. What happened if she went missing and no one knew where she was in the first place? Austin was going to make sure nothing bad would happen to Ally.

Ally groaned and slammed her pen down in frustration. She untied her sweater and threw it on the ground. "WHY IS IT SO HOT IN HERE!" Her, curly brown hair was swifty pulled back into a messy bun, that flopped when Ally slammed her head against the counter. Why? Why is this happening to her? Of all the insane, rediculous things that's happened to Ally, this has to be one of them. Why couldn't this crazy murderer guy just leave her the fuck alone? What has she done in her life-time that's so horrible, so awful, so dispiciable that she deserves this? Nothing. Of course, she's not perfect. Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone does things that they're not proud of. But never in Ally Dawson's life has she done something so awful that this is a reasonable punishment.

Austin gaped at her. Obviously there has been no improvement in Ally's moods. Austin suddenly became frustrated with Ally. Doesn't she realize that this is just as stressful for him as it is for her? Doesn't she know that by being around her, he puts his life in danger too? Doesn't she see how in _love _with her he is? No. She doesn't. And that makes Austin mad. She will never realize any of those things. Because she's too stuck in her own head, in her own fear to see the world around her. She will never see what Austin, Trish, Dez, Mr. Dawson, even the body gaurd are sacrificing for her. All she can think about is herself right now. Austin has to remind himself not to get too upset with her, though. If he were in her position, wouldn't he just think about himself too? Of course, all he would think about was his well-being. Ally's not being selfish. She's just stuck. And even though Austin see's that, he can't help getting frustrated.

But what Austin doesn't know is that Ally feels no fear. No pain. No suffering. No love. No hope. All Ally can feel is anger coarsing through her veins. Anger at Austin. If he really wanted to fucking help, he's go and buy her a God damn strawberry smoothie. Anger at her dad. If he really loved her, he'd be spending time with her, like they would any day, rather than how they would on her last days. Anger at Trish. If Trish really wanted to be her friend, she'd sit down with her and talk gossip. Anger at the murderer. Who the fuck does he think he is, threatening her life when she knows this is the last thing she deserves? Anger at herself. She knows she can help herself. If she could just bring herself to hold back her emotions and be strong. But she can't. She won't.

* * *

><p><em>You have proven yourself to be entertaining, my young one. But hold on just a little bit longer, please. There's is only one more step, but I would just like to go futher back into my history. Unlike others, I am a professional at this, and I'm not afraid to let a little information slip. I know how this game works. So go ahead, show this to your little friends. See how much it helps you. I promise you, it won't. Although I really could care less. It means no difference to me if you do or if you don't.<em>

_Anyways, as you probably know, I'm male. I grew up in Boston, Massachusetts. Oh, how I loved it there. I smell of the sea was strong, and compared to this shitty southern Atalantic crap, it was the greatest ocean. I remeber going out to the docks when I was a child. Standing near the New England Aquarium, I could look out onto the ocean and feel the wind and smell and sea salt. Boston was, is, my most favorite place in the world. When I think of my life in Massachusetts, it almost makes me regret the path I chose to take. Believe it or not, I was realtivly normal back then. I had a lot of friends and wasn't ever violent or even mean. I was a genuanily nice person. But that all changed one day. I guess we can say it stared when I feel in love. Yes, I feel for a girl. She was beautiful. Deep brown eyes from her mother, soft curly brown hair from her father, light Irish skin that would burn if it was in the sun for too long. Almost like you. _

_Not only was I in love with her, but she was in love with me. Mind you we were young, only around sixteen, but I knew I wouldn't be able to live my life without her. I felt something for her that no one else in the world could make me feel. I felt whole around her. Looking into her dark brown eyes comforted me, and she made me realize that there wasn't much more to life than love. Isabelle. That's her name. Of course, my dear father made sure that I soon learn that love isn't important. The second he found out I had grown soft, he beat me. He told me that this is what I get, for having feelings. There is no such thing as love, only money and greed. You marry the right person with the right amount of money, not the person that treats you right. I guess you could say that's how he accuired so much wealth. That day, he made me do something I will never be able to forgive myself for as long as I live. I had to break Isabelle's heart. No, not even break it. Shatter it. Destroy it. Not only was I forced to tell her that I was moving away and never coming back, but that I had never loved her. She was nothing to me. The only reason that I wanted her was for my own selfish needs and because she was wealthy. As the words left my mouth, I could see her heart break a little more. One word was like a bomb setting off inside her, slowly killing her. Ally, you see, Isabelle's heart was the first thing I murdered. _

_After I left, I had gotten letters from my friends who know the truth, informing me of Isabelle's doings. It just went from bad to worse. She started off selling herself to men, drinking her nights away. Then she was free, and quickly became worthless. Than she died. People tell me it was suicide, but I knew it was murder. I killed her. She died of the bomb that I had set off inside of her. Now you would think that because I know I killed her, I wouldn't be killing people now. Trust me, my first thought was to kill myself, so I could be with her and explain to her everything. But that wouldn't work. I belived that I hadn't gone through enough suffering to end my life farily. My next thought was to become a preist, but how could I? They would never let a murderer into their chruch. And lastly, I thought of killing people. At first, I could hardly bear the guilt, and that was really the point. To make myself feel so terrible that I can't even bare to look at myself. But then, as time went on, it became and addiction. A high to help me temporarily forget all the damage I've done. Killing people has become my drug, and no one can stop me. Not even me. _

_So in all of my honest, good luck Ally Dawson. You'll be needing it. _


	4. Dez and a Declaration

**I know what you guys are thinking. What the fuck happened to me? Well, to be completely honest, I got really bored with writing this story. I have an idea for the ending and everything, but it's just these goddamn filler chapters that kill me. Then someone gave me a really good idea and then I just didn't update for a while because I'm a weinie. But I'm updating now and I'm praying that this won't be the last time for a few months because I love this story and I'm really glad you guys do to. **

**To motivate you to continue reading, I will respond you your reviews in the story and answer questions and stuff like that. So review and all that good stuff :) **

**And now the disclaimer.**

**My name is Reagan/Tired and Insprired and I don't own any of that legal shit. I just write the fun stuff. **

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><p>"Hold my hand Ally, don't be scared. I'm here to protect you." Chills went down Ally's spine when she heard Austin's sweet, comforting words being whispered in her ear. And for the first time in a long time, it was the good kind of chills. Ally nodded and kept walking.<p>

Ally was isolated. Her dad kept her in her house, with her body guard. He was always fully armed, foreign accented and scary. But today was different; Austin convinced her dad that Ally needed to get out. She was pale, even more so than before, and was getting terrifying thin. Trish, Dez and Austin were allowed in the house for an hour a day each, but other than that Ally was totally cut off from the world. Mr. Dawson was at a loss, and this was the best way he could think of to keep his daughter safe. "Please don't let me go." Ally said, from behind her hat, sunglasses, make-up, and colored contacts.

"I promise I will never, ever let you go. You've become too big a part of my life for me to lose you now." Austin whispered back in all honesty, gently squeezing Ally's hand. He wouldn't tell her, but he was nervous. He had promised Ally and her father that he would do his best to protect Ally and he really would, but he knew that he didn't stand a chance against a mastermind murder. And if he didn't, Ally would be left alone. He gave her hand another squeeze. They were only going to Trish's house. Her mother had no idea what was going on, and once she saw Ally so pale and so thin, she wouldn't rest until Ally had eaten a horse. That's why Austin and Mr. Dawson thought it would be a good idea to bring her to Trish's house, because the most either of them could get her to eat was half an apple. It was almost like Ally had given up. The thought made Austin want to throw up. "We're almost there, Ally."

He saw Ally nod out of the corner of his eye. "Austin," The small girl said in a soft voice, and he turned his head to look at her. "Thank you." She said, looking at him with a full-blown genuine smile. It was so beautiful; Austin couldn't help but smile back. Ally had really meant it too. After she had started getting these notes, she had expected all of her friends to want nothing to do with her, to protect them. Now she can clearly see how wrong she was. If anything, this has proved to Ally how much her friends care about her. Obviously, they'd be willing to lay their life down for her. She couldn't help but admire that. Being the self-proclaimed coward that she is, Ally wasn't sure if she'd be able to handle everything her friends and, and she'll be forever grateful. Or, at least she'll be grateful until this man gets a hold of her.

There were also little things about Austin that had changed. He acts so protective, as if something happens to Ally his world would fall apart. Sure, Ally had come to terms with the fact that she cares a lot about Austin, but the way he's acting might lead her to think he feels the same. The thought almost excites her, or it would if it weren't for the fact she's being hunted. Ally couldn't help but think, would things be different between them if she hadn't been getting these notes? Would he hug her every time he saw her, not hesitating to wrap his arms around her and hold her like it was the last time he would? Would he hold her hand and tell her how much she means to him? The unsaid words of their argument still hung in the back of their minds, wanting so badly to escape, but they wouldn't. Both Austin and Ally knew that Ally's time may be limited, and they wouldn't want to spend their remaining time arguing.

Austin believed that he couldn't afford to think like that, though. He forced himself to think that Ally_ would_ live. But there was a little voice in the back of his telling him that no, Ally might not live. That was also the voice telling Austin to make a move, before it was too late.

But the thing is, Austin couldn't bring himself to make a move, even if he wanted to. What if Ally didn't return the feelings, or just didn't want to be with him? How is he to look her in the eye afterwards? How is he to act the same way around her? He wouldn't be able to, and he knows that. That's why he won't make a move, because even though Ally won't admit it, she needs him. He can't take that away from her, he won't do that to her. He loves her enough to know what's right, to know what he needs to do for her.

He promised himself the second they catch this murder, the second his ass is thrown in jail, Austin's going to make his move. He's going to sweep Ally up in his arms and kiss her, tell her how much he loves her. But for now, they're walking up the driveway of their friend's home, ready to face her mother and pretend like nothing's wrong. For now, Austin has to put his game face on. Like everything else he does, he's doing it for Ally. "I-" Ally started, drawing Austin's attention towards her, but she didn't finish, she just swallowed her words and looked down at the ground.

"What Ally?" There was no response. "You can tell me. You can tell me anything." He said with vigor and purpose, putting so much honesty in his voice.

Ally swallowed again, licking her dry, food-deprived lips. "I don't think I can do this." She said in a small, crackling voice. A small portion of her mind was conscious of the feeling of Austin's large hand in her dainty ones, loving the warmth and comfort it provided. She tried to focus on that feeling to try and give her confidence. It wasn't exactly working, just making her stomach churn.

"You can do this Ally. I'll be here for you; I'll help you through everything." Austin's dark brown eyes bore into Ally's own, sincerity written across them. Ally suddenly felt a strange sense of comfort in Austin's words. Not only did she believe him, but she also believed that she could do it. She could go in there and put on a happy face. She could do it. She would do it.

She would do it because of Austin.

Ally took a deep breath, approaching the door. She slowly raised her hand, knocking three times timidly. Not one second later, the door swung open, revealing Trish. She was right there, Ally's best friend. Standing right in front of her, with her big brown eyes and wide smile, but there was something off about her. Her big brown eyes weren't full of amusement, and her wide smile didn't even reach her eyes. For the first time, Ally noticed how much this was affecting not only her, but everyone around her. She didn't hesitate to latch herself onto Trish, though her hand still remained glued to Austin's. "Ally, I feel like I haven't seen you in forever."

Ally laughed, though there was nothing comically about their situation. "It's only been a day." Though she understood what Trish was saying. A few hours were nothing before, but not everything has changed. In those few hours, so much could happen. So many life-changing events could happen in that mere minuet that they went without each other. Now every second they spent together was valued while it happened and treasured after the fact.

"Come on inside, my mom made enough to feed an entire army." She paused. "And then some." Austin smiled as the two girls chatted meaninglessly. Seeing Ally talk about nothing was so much better than seeing Ally talk about her possible fate. Her face wasn't filled with fear and her words with dread. He followed them inside Trish's home to see that the Latina girl had not been exaggerating.

"Holy fu-," Austin started, staring at all the food when Trish's mother appeared. "-dgeballs. Mrs. Ramirez, this looks amazing." He gaped, looking at the variety of Mexican, Italian, and Chinese food. Knowing Mrs. Ramirez, it was all homemade from scratch.

Trish's mother beamed. "Why thank you Austin. I hope you enjoy." Her eyes traveled over to Ally, taking in her pale skin and hollow cheeks. She gasped. "Oh my Ally! You look like you haven't eaten in days! Come, come! Sit and eat!" She motioned for Ally to sit, which Ally obliged. No matter how much Ally didn't want to, she knew that Mrs. Ramirez wouldn't give up until Ally had eaten as much as she possibly could. Mrs. Ramirez started to pile tacos, noodles, and pasta on Ally's plate. Her stomach started to rumble at the smell of homemade food. It was times like this were Ally thought of her mother. She wished she had her mother to make her meals, to treat her like Mrs. Ramirez treated Trish. Yes, her dad was great and she loved him with all of her heart, but every girl needs a mother. Even Ally.

"Thank you so much, this smells amazing." Ally said as Mrs. Ramirez put the plate down in front of Ally.

"Well dig in then!" She didn't need to say it twice, as Ally hungrily started to shove various foods in her mouth, not even caring what they were. She didn't realize how hungry she was until her microwavable health meals were replaced with a good homemade meal. Austin chucked, Ally was so absorbed with the food she didn't even notice her two best friends talking.

"So when's the last time she ate?" Trish asked quietly, careful not to have her friend overhear her and have her go off again. That last memory was still fresh in Trish's mind, and it hurt. She wasn't ever going to forget the look in Ally's eyes.

Austin shrugged, looking at Ally with a loving expression, as if she were cradling a baby, rather than eating as if she was going to the chair. "She just doesn't have an appetite for anything anymore. I haven't seen her eat anything other than some fruit." He paused, looking up from Ally into Trish's eyes. "I'm worried."

Trish nodded. "I know. I know everything." Confusion spread across Austin's expression as the words escaped Trish's lips. "I know how you feel, how you both feel. You should do something." She stopped, her mind searching for the right thing to say. "Do something before it's too late." And with that, she walked away from Austin, getting her own food and sitting down next to Ally.

Austin's thoughts were filled with the possible meaning of Trish's words. Did that mean Ally did care about him? Did it mean he was supposed to tell her how he felt. Why? Why would he do that to Ally when that was the last thing she needed? All she need now was for him to be a good friend and to be a distraction from her possible doom.

_I could be a better distraction. _

It was true. Ally wouldn't be thinking about her stalker while Austin kissed her with all of the love and passion he could muster. Ally wouldn't be thinking about death as Austin held her and told her how happy he was that she's his. Ally wouldn't be afraid if Austin's intention of laying his own life down to protect her were clear. Austin needed to be there for her, everyone knew that. But was he there for her in the right way, or should there be more?

If one thing's for sure, he defiantly wanted there to be more.

"Austin, aren't you going to eat?" Ally's sweet voice clouded with taco asked, before gulping down a large bite.

He nodded. "Yeah, I am." He got his plate and food, and sat down with the two girls, his head spinning with thoughts.

"So have you guys seen Dez today?" Ally asked, shoving a fork-full of noodles in her mouth. She personally hasn't seen Dez in two days. He had been stopping by to visit, but they were short and he hasn't been coming to see her lately.

Trish shook her head. "No, I don't know where he's been. I haven't seen or heard from him in at least two days." She thought of the orange haired boy she'd become accustom to, that she'd grown to truly love. No, she hasn't heard from him. He hasn't made himself known, he hasn't been doing anything stupid. That was strange and to Trish, a bit unsettling.

Austin looked between the two girls, unsure of their thoughts, but completely aware of his. "I haven't seen Dez in two days either." They all shared a look, a look of worry and care. What had happened to their dear, ginger friend.

"You don't think…" Ally said, trailing off. She didn't need to finish her sentence, the other two knew what she was going to say. They had the same feeling, the same worries.

But apparently, they had different ways of showing it.

Trish glared at Ally, suddenly angered. "You better not finish that thought, Dawson."

"What? Are you saying that you're not worried about the same thing?" Ally defended, abandoning her food and putting her hands up in front of her.

Trish stood. "Dez is not dead!" She stood, almost shouting at her. "Dez is not dead." She repeated, in a much softer, gentler voice, as if she were trying to convince herself. Then the anger built back up inside her. Misdirected anger, of course. "And you know what, if something does happen to Dez, it's your fault. All of this is your fault." Fury flashed in her black eyes. "Get the fuck out of my house, get the fuck out of my life. You're fucking everything up."

Trish's anger was contagious. Austin found himself standing, walking over behind Ally. No one would talk to his girl like that, not now, not her best friend. "Trish, calm down. This isn't Ally's fault. You're acting delusional. This is no one's fault. No one can control what's happening to Ally and how it's affecting all of us."

Tears brimmed in Ally's eyes as she struggled to find words to say. She didn't need to though, Trish continued. "Well then someone should lock her up in a safe house! She's putting us all in danger, all of us! Especially you! You two are blinded by love but once one of you loses the other you're going to see! You're both going to see that this is her fault! She shouldn't be here!"

Austin's muscle's tensed as Trish pointed a finger at Ally. "Her name is Ally." He said between clenched teeth.

"Austin, it's okay. Don't-"

"No Ally, it's not okay!" He shouted, cutting her off. "I don't care what Trish is feeling, no one can talk to you like that! Don't let anyone talk to you like that!" His concerned look turned to a deathly glare as he looked up at Trish. "And you, what kind of friend are you? Ally needs us, no matter what you think we need to be here for her. Lock her up in a safe house? What, do you mean abandon her? I don't know about you but I would _never _do that to a friend, I'd never leave their side. No matter what they did, or what happened to them. I'm always going to be here for Ally because yes, I do love her. And that means I'm not leaving her side." His eyes narrowed. "And you should do the same."

Ally stood. "I have to go to the bathroom." Before Trish or Austin could utter a word, Ally ran off in the other direction, breathing heavily and no doubt crying.

"You see what you did to her? You see what you've done?" Austin yelled, gesturing in Ally's direction. "This isn't her fault!" He shouted in her defense.

Trish became almost as livid as Austin. "That's all you care about now! Ally! Don't you care about your best friend who no one has heard from in two days? Stop focusing on Ally , because right now she's fine! Focus on your best friend since grade school that might be dead for all you know!"

"Of course I'm worried about Dez!" Austin yelled back in Trish's face. "But you know what, I'm not stupid enough to blame this entire thing on Ally when she probably already feels guilty enough. She needs us, Trish. And we need each other! Why can't you see that! This isn't Ally's fault! She didn't want this happening to her!"

"Well it's her fault for dragging all of us into it! She could have kept her distance and it would have been safer for all of us."

"First of all, I don't know about you but I forced myself into this! Ally doesn't want me putting myself in danger for her, but I am because I know how much she needs me! I know that I can't be selfish and I have to be there for her! You're just so afraid of-"

Austin never got to finish his sentence. Trish never got to snap back. Their argument was cut off.

By a heart-stopping screech.

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><p><strong>So...whadda ya think! Let me know! <strong>

**Also, what do you guys think of the new image I made? Do you likie? I made another one, this one was more one the romance side of the story, while the other was more on the horror side. If you want to see the other one, tell me and I'll put it up! Then you can tell me which one you like better! **

**Again, sorry for taking so long to update. It's something I really do suck at and I promise I'm working at it. Please please please review and other shit :) **

**I loooooooooooooooooooooveeeee eeeeeeeee you all! **


	5. Sean, Sean, He's Our Man

**An early update! Whose proud of me? I amm! If I reach 100 reviews for this chapter, I'll have my next update be a double one :) **

**I don't own this shit bros and lady bros... Are any of you guys? If so tell me, because I like boys ;) **

**Ahahahaha...I'm so fucking creepy. **

**Oh, I would also like to apologize for the shortness of this chapter, but it got the point across. Also, questions unanswered were answered, and that's a good thing for you impatient readers! **

**SHOUT OUT TO MY READERS IN THE U.K! I AM SO JEALOUS OF YOUR ACCENTS AND I LOVE YOU!**

**DISCLAIMER!**

**Here's a big shock to guys, I don't own Austin and Ally. In fact, I haven't watched it since I started this story in like, March. **

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><p>Austin was taught that fear was an abstract noun; you couldn't hold fear in the palm of your hand, you couldn't taste it, smell it, but you could feel it. As Austin sat on the corner of the street in front of Trish's house, he knew that they had been lying to him. Of course, they wouldn't know, they've never felt this fear Austin was feeling. He could smell fear; it smelled a whole lot like blood and metal. It tasted like vomit, threatening to make its way up. And Austin held it, right in his hand. He gripped fear so tightly, his knuckles were white. He gripped that dreaded sharp, metal object. The deep crimson colored liquid, dripping down it, making its way down Austin's hand and up his arm. This had no effect on him; for he remained as rigid as a rock. His jaw was locked so tight, his teeth might crack. His brown eyes were black as coal, bearing no feeling. The crowd on the street had kept their distance, making sure to keep at least five feet away from the boy. If they didn't know any better, they'd think it was Austin who had committed the crime that night.<p>

The only people that remained somewhat calm were the police officers, and even they were worried sick on the inside. Ally's father had been there, pacing and cursing so loudly that people in Canada might have heard it. Trish was sobbing hysterically, feeling guilt and grief. Her heart was beating so fast she thought it would beat right out of her heart. She couldn't take it, she couldn't handle it. A small crowd of people gathered around, watching the events unfold. Once the sirens were heard, people rushed out of their houses to see what the commotion was. They were now gasping, pointing fingers and holding on to each other.

The night's events kept replaying in Austin's mind. Everything was vivid, as if it kept happening over, and over again, He couldn't get the sound of that scream out of his mind, it was stuck there. He closed his eyes so tight, trying to stop the memory from coming. But it came, nevertheless.

_Austin's heart stopped beating once the sound of Ally's shriek was filled his ears. His reaction was immediate, as if it were natural. He grabbed a knife, one of the sharpest, and ran straight to the bathroom. The speed at which he moved was so fast, Trish just saw a blur. The bathroom door was locked when Austin got to it, and the screaming stopped. Now it was just hysterical sobs that made Austin's heart start back up again, and then wrench at the sound. Raising his right leg, he kicked the door with all his might, sending it flying off its hinges. It's amazing, he later thought, that he knew he could never do that if Ally had not been in danger behind that door. He knew that it was a combination of adrenaline, urgency, and love. His eyes widen in shock as he saw what was behind the door. He knelt down besides the girl he loved, taking her face in his hands, looking into her detached eyes. He had a sudden urge to kiss her, but he didn't. He just covered up the blood. _

"Mr. Moon, may I have a word with you?" Austin looked up to see a man in his late-twenties. His hair was in a military cut; his eyes were blue as the sky. He was wearing jeans, a collared shirt, and a gun. A gun, how ironic. The bad guys use guns on the good guys, and the good guys use guns on the bad guys. If the good guys use guns, wouldn't that make them bad guys? Austin nodded curtly, reluctantly putting down the blood-covered knife, the only thing he had for protection. Not to protect himself, but to protect Ally. Though, know that he thought about it, there was no use for the knife. Ally was gone. He stood and started to walk away from the crowd with the unnamed man.

"Are you afraid?" The man asked Austin, sending him a sideways glance.

Austin scoffed, shoving his hands in his jean pockets. He hadn't thought about that. Had he been scared? Yes, he had been extremely terrified. Had he been scared for his own life? No, no of course not, he'd been afraid for Ally's the one who was put in danger. "Not afraid of getting killed, if that's what you mean. I am afraid, though." The pushed their way through the crowd, finally reaching what Austin thought was the man's car.

He shot Austin another glance, not entirely sure what he meant. He had gotten all sorts of answers for people, claiming or denying their fear, but never had he heard one like Austin's. "Then what exactly are you afraid of? The pain?"

Austin shook his head, but then paused to think about it. "Not in the sense that you would think..." He stopped walking, and turned completely to face the man. "I'm afraid for Ally."

The older man nodded in understanding. "I know how you feel. I'm afraid for my family every time I got involved with a case. I actually broke it off with my fiancé because of this case, but apparently there was nothing I could do to stop it," he paused, glancing at Austin, "but you don't want to hear about Hannah. I'm Sean, Sean Jacobs." He stuck his hand out for Austin to shake, but Austin just stared at it.

In that moment, Austin not only realized his sacrifice, but everyone else's. This man didn't know Ally, or any of the other victims. Ally isn't the love of Sean's life, or even involved in it. This man let his fiancé go to protect her, although it appeared to Austin that his efforts were pointless. The name Hannah sounded familiar, maybe it was mentioned in the night Austin told the police about Ally's stalker. He shuddered at the memories that come with that day. He looked straight into Sean's eyes. "Thank you."

Sean nodded uneasily, gulping. He had never been the one to appreciate these tender moments, but he let it slide, seeing that this boy in front of him was so emotionally exhausted, with losing someone so close…..

"So tell me what happened tonight?" Sean asked, stuffing his hands in his pockets, leaning up against the cop car.

Austin's black eyes traveled to the ground, not yet ready to retell the tale. His heart was beating so hard, he could hear it in his ears. His mouth felt so dry, and his palms were sweaty. The mere thought of what happened made him want to throw up. He was sure that the second he opened his mouth to talk about it, his insides would come flooding out. Sucking in a deep breath, he shook his head, ready to talk. "I was taking Ally to see her friend, Trish. She hasn't been out a lot and I wanted to let her see the sun for a little bit. Once we got there, we all just sat around and talked. Then Dez came up." He looked up to see Sean staring at him intently, as if he were trying to read Austin,

"Go on." He nodded patiently.

The blonde boy sucked in more air, breathing slowly. "None of us had seen him in a while, and we got a little worried. Well, Ally and I got worried, Trish started panicking. She started yelling at Ally, telling her that if anything happened to Dez, it'd be her fault. She didn't mean it, she was just worried. I got mad, though, and I yelled back defending Ally. Ally got so. I dunno, uncomfortable. She just got up and went to the bathroom. Trish and I kept fighting, until Ally screamed. Then I grabbed the knife and ran to the bathroom, and kicked the door open. And then I saw-"His voice caught, he had gotten to the worst part. He didn't want to have ever seen what he saw, never mind talk about it. He just looked back down, refusing to meet Sean's eye again.

The older man put his hand on Austin's shoulder in a comforting way. "Austin, please. You need to tell me what you saw. I know this is hard, especially right now. Please just try to tell me."

Austin gulped. "At first I wasn't even sure what happened, there was just a lot of- a lot of blood. Then I saw Ally on the floor, and Dez was on top of her. The next thing I saw was a man climbing out of a window. I-I didn't know what to do. I made a gash in his calf, I think. I looked down and saw that Ally had a cut on her face, it looked pretty deep, but there was too much blood on the floor to be just from Ally's cut. I asked them if there were alright, but Ally just sobbed and Dez didn't move." He gulped. "I picked him up off Ally and-"He trailed off, not wanting to say what he saw so badly. He couldn't do it that would only make it real.

He knew he had to though, Austin had to do it. "He looked like the joker. His mouth was cut up from the inside, like that sickening smile. His eyes were stapled wide open. I knew what had happened. I checked for a pulse anyways." He paused. "Obviously, the results weren't pleasing."

"You seem very calm about this." Austin opened his mouth to say that, no; he was not calm at all. He didn't even know what he was feeling. "I imagine you're just in shock, I would be in the same position, and I certainly don't blame you."

"I just can't even believe it." Austin replied, shaking his head.

Sean put his hand back on Austin's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "I know kid. Just go home and get some rest, okay? We have to talk again soon, and I imagine you want to see Ally as soon as possible. She's in the hospital right now; they're going to keep her overnight. Also, we're considering relocated you two, to a safer place."

"Like witness protection?"

"Something like that, now go home. I'll see you tomorrow."

The second Austin got home; he hopped on his laptop in hopes of finding something about Sean Jacobs. If this man was going to be protecting Ally, he wanted to make sure he was good enough. He went onto Google, typing his name in the search bar. The first things that popped up were about an art school, but on the thirtieth page, he found something about local private investigators. Austin's eyes scanned the screen, looking for important information. Turns out Sean was a Marine who got back from Afghanistan a few years ago. He's worked on several cases before, all of them turning out to be successful for him. That was good, very good. He started working on this case one victim before his fiancé's murder. Apparently, he was chosen for this case for two main reasons. One is because he grew up in Boston, the alleged home of the unnamed serial killer. And the second reason is that he works so ruthlessly on cases like this, it's hard to keep up with him. According to his fellow workers, Sean would rather die than give up on a case. And not that Hannah's dead because of this man, he's even more determined to find the killer.

Austin deemed him good enough. Barely.

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><p><strong>And you thought Sean wasn't important. Well, you were wrong. Review! If I get to 100 I'll double update!<strong>


	6. Oh Feelings, You Silly Thing You

**I have a male reader. I can die happy. SHOUT-OUT TO YOU UNNAMED MALE YOU! I love you...I really do. Oh, and by the way, I wrote this chapter while listening to Live While We're Young, by One Direction. Yeah, that song's the shit but it wasn't exactly fitting for this story. So if it seems happy and fan-girlish, sorry. **

**Early update? Tell me, quicker updates or longer chapters? It's either or bros and lady bros, let me know. I can't deal with all this shit. **

**Guess what my favorite word is? **

**And I don't have to say this...but I don't own the shit. **

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><p>Hospitals had to be one of the worst places in the world. Everything was far too clean and white. There was scent that seemed to be a combination of medicine, cleanliness, and blood. Everyone was far too cheery to be in such a horrible place, the nurses acted like they work at Disney World. The very worst part of a hospital, though, was waiting. People were there because of car accidents, cancer, and various types of bone breaking activates. All of those people considered themselves lucky, though, as they looked down on the blonde boy who hadn't had a wink of sleep.<p>

Austin's eyes, which were so bloodshot the whites of his eyes looked red, couldn't stay in one spot. They roamed all over the waiting room, flashing towards the exit, the door that lead to where the patients were, the security desk, and to various people, sometimes someone would catch his blank eyes, and he'd hold them there until the person got so uncomfortable they had to walk away. Austin saw the same thing every time he locked eyes with a stranger. Pity.

How could they not sympathize for the blonde boy? They had all seen it, who hadn't? The story had been all over the news. Local teenage girl, marked for murder. And when they showed the crime scene, there was Austin Moon. There weren't a lot of people who didn't know about Austin, and is they didn't, they did now. Who could forget the dangerous looking boy, grabbing the knife with the blood? Austin wasn't the happy about this going public, but one good thing did come out of it. Austin's fans knew why he wasn't posting any videos.

Austin's mind flashed back to the knife, and realization of what happened hit him so hard he felt like a brick wall collapsed on his back. The man threatening his love's life was right there in front of him. He was in a defenseless position; even though he was armed there was no way he could get a clear shot at Austin. His upper body was completely out the window; Austin could have got a good shot in his back. He could have killed him, ended all of this right there and then. Dez would still be dead, but everyone else would be safe. Ally would be safe.

He was somewhat glad that even though he didn't kill the man, he had managed a gash on the back of his calf. That knife has a murder's blood on it. Scientist could trace the blood, couldn't they? Perform a blood test and get a name, a face. Only one problem, Austin had no idea where the knife was.

He realized this flaw after he sought out information on Sean Jacobs. In his hurry to get home and do an identity search, he had completely forgotten to grab it and most likely give it to a detective as evidence. Hopefully, Sean or one of his coworkers got it.

Austin sighed, running a hand through his blonde hair that now resembled a nest. His eyes had given up on traveling, and now focused on the ugly green carpet. _Who had picked out that color? Why would they ever in their right mind think that was a pretty color? Whoever came up was that color should be hit in the head with a rubber chicken. _

His lame attempts to keep his mind off his tricky situation kept failing. He needed something to distract him, anything.

As if God had answered his prayers, in an odd way, a fragile pair of arms wrapped around his strong neck. At first, he tensed; uncomfortable with his new addition, then he realized it was just a little girl, giving him a hug. A stupid little girl, but nothing that was a threat to him.

He awkwardly patted her back lightly, unsure of what to do. "Hi! My name's Julia, I'm six!" She said, letting go of Austin to stand up straight and look him in the eyes.

Fortunately for Austin, this girl looked nothing like Ally, so he could take his mind of her for the moment. Her tanned face was round, and her blonde hair was thin and pulled up into a ponytail. Her eyes were big and bleu, sparkling with happiness, while Ally's usually bore worry. "Hi, I'm Austin. I'm fifteen." His voice was hoarse, cracking and going up at least an octave.

Julia just smiled brighter. "I know that silly!" I'm your biggest fan! I love all of your songs!"

"Oh, um thank you." Austin was usually great with fans, even the young ones. Now he just felt awkward, especially because this was the part where he gave Ally credit for his success.

"I'm here because my mommy's having a baby. It's a boy; I'm going to have a little brother! Isn't that so cool!" Austin didn't even have time to reply before the little girl started talking again. "Why are you here? Are you sick? Is that why you haven't posted a lot of videos lately?"

Fuck. Words caught in Austin's throat at the seemingly innocent question. What was he to say to a six year old girl who probably still believed in Santa? 'Oh, one of my best friends was murdered and the other was stabbed by her stalker'? No, he couldn't say anything like that, he wouldn't. He just had to think of something else to say.

"Julia, sweetie, c'mon. Don't you want to see mommy and the new baby?" Austin looked up at the new voice that beckoned the little girl in front of him. He looked up to see what he guessed was Julia's dad, and was completely shocked by what he saw.

At first, he thought it was Sean, but he soon realized that it wasn't. Instead of Sean's sky blue eyes, he was met with sea green ones. The resemblance was uncanny, and he couldn't help but get and eerie feeling from it. "Coming Daddy!" Julia shouted behind her, looking at Austin. "I have to go now, but you're going to make another video, right?"

Austin nodded. "Of course." Julia ran off to greet her dad, tugging on his sleeve, telling him that she just met a celebrity. Though the man's eyes remained locked on Austin, giving him an understanding look. Austin wasn't sure what it meant, but he appreciated it. He was glad to know someone understood, or looked like they understood.

He then did something that sent Austin completely off guard. He raised three fingers to his lips, then up above his head, like in the Hunger Games. Austin couldn't help it; he let out a small laugh, a real one at that too. He hasn't had one of those ever since he found out what was happening with Ally. The man smiled, before grabbing his daughter's hand and walking off with her. Austin was glad for that moment of happiness, because it was slowly disappeared as the man and his daughter happily trotted away.

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><p>"Austin." Ally's voice was worse than Austin's, she sounded like she was doing some hard core crying, and the redness of her eyes complied with that. "I'm so so-"<p>

"Don't even say it. Don't you dare say it." Austin said, grabbing Ally's hand as if her life depended on it. "It's not your fault, so don't apologize." His voice sounded stronger now than before, more confident. It needed to be now that he had someone to be strong for. "It's no one's fault but his."

"You're all too good for me, Austin." She said, not able to look him in the eyes. "You have a future, Trish has a future, and Dez had a future." She said, her voice shaking. "He would still be here right now if it weren't for me."

"No, he'd be he right now if it weren't for some psychotic killer." Austin said firmly.

"NO! Austin, listen to me!" Ally shouted, earning a baffled stare from her blonde friend. "You three chose to stick with me when things started to get bad, and I'll be forever in all of your debt because of it. I love you all, and I'll never be able to show how much I appreciate you all."

"You don't have to show us Ally, you're worth it to us, you're worth it."

"Austin, I don't want you or Trish to spend any more time with me. It's dangerous and if something happened to you, I'd never be able to forgive myself. Please just do it for me."

Austin glared at Ally, for being an idiot. "Shut-up." He said viciously, "I knew what I was getting into when I chose to be with you, it actually wasn't even a decision. I knew that I wasn't leaving. I'm never leaving. I can't speak for Trish but I have a feeling she's going to be here for you, too. She got a little worried, and freaked out. She's fine now, worried about she. She feels awful and wants to make it up to you. She loves you Ally, we all do. We're not leaving." He said, eyes his locked on Ally's firmly. He wasn't backing down from this one, he was going anywhere.

"I'm so worried about you." She said, looking down with tears forming in her eyes.

Austin's hand grabbed Ally's chin, forcing her eyes up to meet his. "I'm worried about you too, Ally. I'll never stop worrying about you. Trouble seems to have a liking for you, Ally."

One Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi, four Mississippi, five Mississippi. Austin held Ally's gaze for five whole Mississippi's, until he decided to make his move.

They both leaned in, feeling the same thing. The same desire, burning on. When their lips met it was like magic. Their lips moved in perfect synch, and when one's heart beat the other ones held, and vice versa. It was amazing, and yet somewhat bittersweet. How stupid, Ally thought, to get involved in something like this when she undoubtedly had little time left? It would either ruin Austin and her relationship, or it would get them involved in something that would leave Austin's heart broken. She couldn't help herself, though. She loved the fireworks going off her in stomach, the tingling feeling she got when Austin touched her. It was like electric currents running through her body, kissing Austin. She loved every second of it, and soaked up the feeling.

Austin licked her bottom lip, begging her for entrance that she graciously allowed. Their tongues explored each other's mouth, neither one displeased with the other's performance. It was Ally who pulled away, needing to breath. Her dark brown eyes met with Austin's, and for a few seconds they just stared at each other with loving expressions. "I love you, Ally." Austin said with such passion, Ally wanted to kiss him.

"I love you too, Austin." He grinned, giving her a small kiss on the lips.

"You know this is so wrong, Ally."

"But it feels so right."


	7. I LOVE ALL OF MY READERS AND I'M SORRY!

A short girl with a large pile of brown hair sat on her couch, a laptop in her lap. She narrowed her green eyes at the screen, as if that would type words for her. She was trying to type another chapter for her fanfiction, Hold On. It had been weeks since she updated, and she really is known for going on month-long breaks. Her readers deserve better than that, right? She groaned in frustration and slammed the laptop closed. _Or, _she thought, opening the laptop back up again, _I could work on my new Harry Potter fanfic...that sounds nice. _

And the second she opened up the word document, her hands were flying, typing up the story that so easily came to her. Half-way through a paragraph, her German Shepard started barking, indicating that someone was at the door. With another large groan, she stood to open it, dressed in sweatpants and a Spiderman t-shirt. Her sad, sad excuse for a bun was falling apart. She opened the front door to see her dearest friend, Andy, who actually looked presentable. Her long, golden hair was curled and her brown eyes were decorated with make-up. She actually looked really good. For hurricane weather. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Andy rolled her eyes and pushed the girl out-of-the-way. "Shut-up Reagan, you know you're glad to see me. Besides, the power went out in my apartment and my parents wanted to play Twister."

"So you thought it'd be a good idea to drive across the city, along the ocean, during a hurricane?" Reagan asked, though she couldn't say she was all too surprised. Andy was famous for doing stupid things like that. The blonde just shrugged and made her way into Reagan's living room, where her laptop sat open on the couch.

She threw herself down next to Reagan's prized possession a picked it up. "I rather get thrown into forty-foot waves than play Twister with my parents. What are we working on, Reags? Another chapter of Hold On?"

"Don't call me that, and no. It's my Harry Potter one. You should check it out, this one's about Lupin." She said, sitting down next to Andy, leaning her head against the blonde girl's shoulder. She wasn't one for cuddling, especially with her best friend, but it pissed her off to no end. Therefor, it was well worth it.

Andy's reaction was satisfactory. "Get off me, you fat whale." She said, pushing Reagan's head off of her shoulder. "And I'm dissapointed. What about Hold On? That's by far one of the best stories you've ever written, why haven't you updated that? You're readers are going to hate you if you don't start working on something soon."

Reagan rolled her eyes. "Don't worry my fans already hate me." She took the laptop from Andy's lap and placed it on her own. "Besides, look, I've already started chapter seven." She pulled open another document, handing it back to her friend.

"'The'." Andy read, and shot her friend a look. "You have one word."

"One more word than I had four hours ago."

"I am going to go eat your food now, and you are going to work on this story. You better update by noon tomorrow, or I'm not talking to you for a week." She said, turning on her heel and making her way into the kitchen. There was no doubt that by the end of the storm, Reagan's mom would have to go by some more Nutella. The brunette rolled her eyes and put the laptop on the coffee table in front of her. She grinned, for an idea hit her.

**Hey Andy, I updated. **


	8. Without You

**There are some things I would just like to say before I do anything. Death Equals Peace, I love you. Seriously. Every single time you reviewed on this story I freaking fan-girled like Andy does over One Direction (yep, she's one of them). Second, I got a request from someone saying that I should write a little 'The Adventures of Reagan and Andy' mini series. I was wondering if any of you guys would read that and tell me what you think. If you thinks a good idea, then let me know because lemme tell you that girl is cray cray. You'll love her. Anyways, here's the only awaited chapter that's short and freaking sucks sorry and I love you. **

**Oh! And this is my friend's birthday present. HAPPY BIRTHDAY LAUREN I LOVE YOUR FACE!**

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><p><span>Chapter Seven: Without You<span>

_Ally, sweetest, dearest Ally._

_So you and Blondie finally got together. Enjoy it while it lasts._

_I've also noticed that you are making this, much, much harder than it needs to be. Well, for you at least. At this point I could swoop down in the dead of the night and kill you without a trace. No one would know it was me. But that's just no fun. What's the point of killing your prey without any real chase? So far, my Irish blood as provided my luck, giving me the best chases I could get. My luck has wavered, however, since you've become my target. You're almost too easy. No matter, I'm sure Blondie and his little cop will make this more interesting._

_For now, you can rest. For the time being you are in no real danger. Though I have given you no reason to trust me, you should. I have no intention of hurting you if no one's there to stop me. So have sweet dreams, my little Ally._

Ally sighed, placing her latest note on the stand next to her bed in the hospital. This one had been so kindly delivered in the dead of night. One morning, Ally awoke to find the flimsy piece of notebook paper dangling in front of her face on a string. It was if he wanted to allude to the fact that he could get to her with ease anytime he wanted to. It chilled Ally to the core to think that he was so close, that he could have pulled out a knife and pressed it against the middle of Ally's throat, sliced slowly and enjoyed the sight of the deep crimson flowing over his heads. Ally shuddered, burying her neck into her chest.

Disturbing images plagued Ally's mind, picturing her death by a faceless man in cruel, inhuman ways. As Ally's imagination was sucked into the dark side, she could feel cold spots on her body where she imagined he would touch her. Her figure curled up; making itself smaller as a way to avoid predators. The ivory white skin crawled the thought of being grouped by grimy, parlous hands**.**

She imagined him tying her up on a table, her limbs spread apart and unable to squirm an inch. He would take a knife and slowly drag it along Ally's leg, applying just enough pressure to cut the skin. He'd drag it up past her hip, up to her stomach. Engraving swirls in her abdomen, he'd give her an evil smile with crooked, yellow teeth. He'd trace up her arms, to her shoulders, and pick it pack up again on her face. He wouldn't stop until every single part of his victim would be covered in bright red tattoos.

Ally knew she shouldn't do this to herself. The more and more she thought about her death and how it would come, the more real it seemed to be to her. She just couldn't help herself, though. All she wanted was to get rid of these disturbing scenarios. They seemed to be getting worse and worse.

Currently, Ally was staying in the Miami Hospital until she was fully recovered. The police said they wanted her in protective care for as long as possible, and right now, the hospital would be the best place there. Though she knew it was inevitable, Ally dreaded being forced of the hospital. She was safe here, even if the killer could reach her. The fact that he was looking for a challenge kept him from getting his task done, and he wouldn't find a challenge in the hospital, protected Ally. Once she stepped out into the real world again, she was vulnerable.

One thing that was completely undetermined was what the hell Ally would do once she got out of the hospital. She certainly couldn't go home, no that option was completely out of the question. Despite the countless offers, Ally refused to stay at Trish's or Austin's house. The two people were already in danger themselves, there was no need to drag their families into this. Witness protection was on option, but it was complicated and required much paperwork. Ally doubted it would be done by the time she recovered. Her mother, well, although she's not exactly in the picture any more, Ally did consider her as an option. Unfortunately, after presenting the idea to Mr. Dawson, he had informed her that Ally's mother died, leaving Ally with no options whatsoever. The only certain thing about Ally's future was that Austin would be with her, no matter what.

No matter how much convincing and pleading Ally tried, Austin vowed to never leave her side throughout this entire journey. Giving no reason, he simply stated that if she wanted to get rid of Austin she'd have to kill him herself. Since Ally would rather just give herself to this man than hurt Ally, she's aware that he's not going anywhere any time soon.

A knock on the door shoved all the thoughts right out of Ally's head. "Come in," she said, her voice barely audible to the person behind the closed door. She cleared her throat as the door slowly opened. _Maybe it's the person who's going to kill me. Maybe he got me flowers. _A dry smile made her way on Ally's lips, if it was then it would be just her luck. Well, if it was him and he did bring flowers, they better be damn good ones, with chocolate too.

But it wasn't him. It was her. "Ally?" The familiar voice asked, a smile gracing her face.

"Lauren?" And just like that, the girl ran up to Ally's side and swooped her up into her arms, nearly squeezing the life out of her. Ally's emotionless smile now grew into a full blown joyous one. "Oh Lauren I missed you so much!"

The girl pulled away, giving Ally a look. "You missed me? How do you think I feel? Not only did I miss you, but I was also informed that you were being stalked by a freaking serial killer! I've been worried sick, Alls!" Lauren gave Ally one more loving look before pulling her in for another bone crushing hug. "My dad told me that I might not be able to come see you, because he didn't have enough money to send me all the way down to Florida. I told him to suck it and I took his truck and drove down here."

Ally's jaw dropped. She knew her cousin was one for doing stupid and rebellious things (as long as it didn't interfere with her with her dance career, of course) but she never knew Lauren to do something that would get her in so much trouble. Ally felt both touched and apalled when she realized that this was all done for her. "Lauren, you shouldn't have done that. I'll be fine, once I get out of here Austin and I-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Lauren interupted, holding her hands up. "Austin? You mean you got a boy here during all this trouble?" Ally nodded, looking down at her hands as a blush crept up on her face. "Ally Dawson, if this boy has stayed with you throughout all this shit then you need to marry me, understand me?" Ally nodded, seeing Lauren's mother come out in her. Ally's father was Lauren's mother's brother, as much as a mouthful that is. Lauren was born and raised in South Carolina, and while her mother is a true southern belle, Lauren is someone who belongs in New York with the dreamers and the darers. Every now and again, however, Lauren's mother will peek out in her personality.

"Anyways, once I get out of here, I can't go back to my house. Austin and I will probably go to some sort of host family before we're able to go to like, witness protection or something."

"What do you mean you have to wait for witness protection? Isn't witness protection suppose to be there immediately when you need it?" Lauren questioned, looking at Ally as if she just told her that Ally has nine extra toes on one foot.

"Well, that's what the idea for witness protection started out as. Then, appearnetly, people who didn't need witness protection were getting it, and the people who actually needed it had to wait longer for someone to take them in. Now, there has to be paperwork and a trial to see if someone's really in need for witness protection. I like to think that I am, but sometimes these people don't make any sense. Until this whole thing is over, we have to find some place to go."

For a few seconds, Lauren pursed her lips together and closed her eyes, what she does when she's thinking something over. As far as Ally could remember, when Lauren closed her eyes and thought, terrible things happened. "Ally Dawson, you are coming to South Carolina with me." Ally opened her mouth to protest, but Lauren placed her tan hand over her mouth, shushing her. "Nope, you're coming, I don't care. Besides, you'll get to see me dance at States." Lauren smiled, showing her straight white teeth. "You can bring that boy you're so head over heels in love with too. Wouldn't want to be the one that separates you two. We'll leave when you get out." With that, Ally's cousin stood and stalked out of the room without another word.

A few moments after Lauren left, Austin hesitantly appeared in the doorway, poking his head thorough to look at Ally. "Is everything alright? Who was that girl Ally? Did she hurt you?" Leave it to Austin to automatically assume the worst and get all hot headed and protective.

Ally ignored the blonde though. "Austin, how do you feel about South Carolina?"

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><p>He brought the hand held radio up to his lips, smiling as he leaned against the back doors of the Miami hospital. Slowly, he brought it down into his pocket, leaving his hand there. Long fingers curled around the handle of a blade, a fat thumb tracing down the leather cover. Gently, he slipped the leather off, a sick twisted grin appearing on his handsome, chiseled features.<p>

"I hope you know you won't get away with this." A strained voice managed, and the hooded man looked down to it. It amused him that he could so easily get a grown man tied up like this, struggling for air and for freedom. "They'll find you, you'll suffer death penalty!"

The hooded man scoffed, looking down at the tied up man with an unimpressed look. "Oh shut-up." He stalked towards him, pulling the silver knife out of his pocket. "Who's going to tell on me? You?" He asked with a grin. The man in bounds gasped, struggling to get free once he realized his fate. It was all in vain though, as the hooded man sliced the metal across his neck, silencing his protests. "Thought not." He smiled down at his work.

He was really going to enjoy South Carolina.

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><p><strong>It's funny because Lauren hates the south. She wanted to be from Rhode Island but that's too far and the killers from Boston so Lauren can suck it.<strong>

**I also got a review that pissed me off. "If you don't update soon I won't read your any more." (I think she said book).**

**Gurl, don't let the door hit you on the way out I got a life and school too you know it takes a LONG ASS TIME to write these chapters and I've got mid-terms like, now.**

**Ain't nobody got time for that.**

**Alright I'm done bye. I love you all! Except Monica you pissed me off.**


	9. You Deserve This

So I tried to kill myself. Yes, how horrifically blunt I am, but you deserve to know why I haven't been updating and that's why. I've been drifting in and out of hospitals trying to get better. I don't feel comfortable posting everything on this story,  
>but if you have questions just message me. Seriously message me about whatever you need, whether it be explanations from me or to talk about you. Whatever it is, I want to hear it. Please don't do what I did. Talk to me. Or someone. Please. I'll try to get back into the story because I do want to finish it but Jesus it's hard. Please understand. I'm so sorry about this. I love you all. So that was heavy. But you're all the fucking shit so I trust you. Until next time, my peasants. Much love, Reagan. Also, go easy on the hard-core pity, yeah? <div> 


	10. A Long Time Coming

**I made a friend and his name is JetbrewBarista34. Cool dude.**

**This is long overdue but whatever I'm not doing that whole apology thing I'm just gonna write.**

**_Disclaimer: I own nothing but Nutella and cellulite_.**

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><p>Austin was angry.<p>

Fucking furious to be precise.

He was so enraged, the only thing that crossed his mind was how utterly pissed off he was.

The clock hanging above the stove in his kitchen provided the noise that the three tense family members failed to provide. His mother pressed a hand over her mouth, tear-stained eyes squinting at her only son. His father, however, wore the same stubborn, jaw set look that Austin did.

Eventually, the silence became to much for Austin. "I'm almost am adult. You should be letting me make my own decisions," he spat, enunciating the boil in his veins with each word he threw at his parents.

"That is one of the worst arguments you could make," his father retorted. "You are not an adult yet, and your mother and I were responsible for your safety. That being said, we are not letting you go two states away with a girl that is being targeted by a murder. What kind of parents would we be?" He leaned closer, glaring into Austin's deep brown eyes that matched his own. "We love you. So much. Enough to not let you do something so stupid."

"But I love her! Enough to protect her for whatever or whoever is going to hurt her!"

"YOU'RE SIXTEEN!" his mother screeched, making both Austin and his father jump. "You can't protect her from anything. You're a child, Austin. There are police trying to protect Ally, detectives, people who are trained to do this. You're not going to do any help, okay? You'll just going to get yourself hurt or worse. What the hell would your father and I do if our only son died? Did you ever think of that? Or is it all about Ally?" A sob broke through her lips as tears trickled down her face. "This is so much more than Ally," she whispered.

It was so much more than Ally. It always had been. It was her dad, Austin, Trish, their fans.

Dez.

It was so much more than Ally.

Silenced, Austin buried his face in the palm of his hands. He had never experienced such angst in his privileged life. Before this, he was happy. He was successful. Yes, Ally helped launch his career and he would be no where without her, but she was never his life. There was so much he loved outside of the brunette, so much that he wasn't willing to let go. Austin asked a question he would have never even considered before: Was Ally worth it?

He had lost his freedom, his best friend, and damn, he had even lost his fucking mind for that girl. Never again would Dez make a corny stupid joke, or let llamas on the loose. Austin would never be able to walk down the street without glancing over his shoulder ever five seconds, looking for a face he didn't now. He wouldn't be in this situation of it wasn't for her. He wouldn't have to curl his fingers in his hair and pull as tightly as he could. He wouldn't have to punch walls. All he would have to give up was Ally.

He would have to give up seeing her face every day, admiring the way her cheeks stretched when she smiled to loudly. He'd have go give up the sound of her quirky laugh, loud and unable to be ignored. He'd be forced to sacrifice her beautiful and timid singing voice, the thing that lured him in. He would have to give up all the quirks that composed Ally. And he wasn't ready to do that.

Yes, he decided, Ally was worth it.

Austin didn't know what to do, didn't know what was right, so for the moment, he could just punch a wall.

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><p>Of course it was raining. Everything in Ally's life was so horrifically clichéd, why would this be any different?<p>

She should have cried. She really should have, and it felt almost selfish and heartless not to, but it was like there was no heart beating in her chest.

Maybe it was buried six feet under the ground with her father.

Ally stood motionless over the grave, knowing that under the freshly refilled dirt her dad was lying still, never to move again. She wasn't sure if it was comforting or creepy, or maybe just both. Ally could feel the wind whipping her hair around, and the stinging droplets of rain. Or maybe she couldn't. She didn't know. She didn't know anything anymore.

One thing she did know, however, was that Austin didn't show up. The one person she relied on failed her. Ally had always told herself everyone would leave her at some point because of this, but that was just something she thought to try and contain her hopes. Never once did she actually believe she would be abandoned. But still, here she was. /em/pp The funeral had ended two hours ago. Each individual second was spent staring at the grave in complete solitude. Even her foreign protector had taken a step back. Everyone seemed to be taking steps back. Ally wasn't sure if she cared or not.

Never had she felt so exhausted. Every moment was a struggle to stay awake. All Ally wanted was to sleep, to stay in the peaceful dream state where nothing was wrong, where she couldn't be plagued by reality. Often, she wondered if she could just get it over with, to permanently reside in this dream state. It would save her the trouble of paranoia and anxiety. It was a good idea, and she could see no flaws in it.

Ally sat down, not caring that the wet grass was ruining her tights. She reached into her purse, searching for the prescription pills she had for anxiety, depression, and too many other things she'd been diagnosed with since the notes.

It was time to take her pills anyways.

She dumped the entirety of one bottle and the half of another into her mouth, washing it down with a half empty water she had in her bag.

She was tired.

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><p><strong>Don't bitch out at me for the ending. I will flip the fuck out.<strong>

**If I see one person review, "Why would you write about suicide when you've attempted it?" I will hunt you don't and force you to do something sucky. Like listen to Nickleback.**

**This was a part of the plot since the beginning and it was pivotal, so I couldn't change it. Well I could have. But I'm lazy.**

**So it's like mostly a filler but not really I dunno I think it sucks but whatever at least it's an update. I'm having a bad day. Cheer me up and review so you don't hurt my feelings. Sorry it's so short but not really.**


	11. Chapter 11

Hello. So I don't really know how to do this so I'm going to start off by saying that I'm not Lauren. Or Regan. She really hated the name Lauren, as disclaimer. I'm her friend.

Since I'm here for one reason, I might as well get to the point: Lauren's not around anymore. I'm sure you can put two and two together.

I didn't really want to do this but I just remember her feeling shitty about never updating and I dunno I just I just thought you should be aware that there's never going to be another update.

I realize that I probably sound really detached and it's because I am. I mean, fuck man. But this isn't really about my feelings.

So I really don't know what else to say. I'm sorry guys. But it's over now.


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